Zulu-Niner

Damn he works together with Ito Marika A LOT.

Her rise seems to be of interesting case study, since she's one of those rare 'outsiders' (the ones who aren't endowed with spotlights and showered with high-profile roles from the start) who manage to break though the (increasingly) elitist system. TBH it should be an example for other up-and-coming youngsters who are still outside of the corridor: be wise to choose to whom and what you'll be working with.

And to think that particular movie wasn't initially considered to compete amongst high-profile-studded movies (Ohku Akiko's prior works were of very indie ones), yet it still delivers.

More like 2015 is when she began taking off, although yet still no major awards. She very narrowly lost to Takahata Mitsuki that year (I think, by just a point), both co-starring in Mondai no Aru Restaurant. But at least she started getting noticed by J-Drama/Movie big wigs. But IMO she didn't really break out until circa 2017-2018, by winning Best Actress in Katte ni Furuetero and cast by Koreeda in Manbiki Kazoku (her first true 'elite' role).

Sadly that's exactly what happens. Episode 2 onward are paywalled and not available in Youtube. Granted, one can just pay for Hikari TV's subscription which is quite cheap at the first month (350 yen), but I'm afraid it could be pretty steep afterwards like most pay-in channels. And this show airs for two months instead of one that is.

JDrama Legend. Living meme.

Check the previous comments.

Yup, weird to see "Limited Time Free Streaming" but with no clear when it'll be ended lol. On the downside, usually only a few episodes are available for free streaming, one needs to pay subscription to see the rest (and AFAIK Hikari TV isn't available outside of Japan).

The 1st episode is available in Youtube (worldwide!), no English subs though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR0KU0RKHWA

Agreed. This kid is a beast in terms of acting.

NGN (an US-based TV channel) picked it up.
https://twitter.com/oryofiles/status/1480514072332226561

Yes she is. She announced her retirement from the industry early last year. Shame her career never took off even after her pretty significant role in asadora Gouchisousan (as heroine's daughter), which is a waste of talent.

Yet another having-sex-with-the-guy-you-argue-with kind of show, which is getting super common recently, particularly those produced by (but not limited to) MBS. BTW It's kinda depressing to see MBS going from a channel that focuses on youth topics featuring lesser-known and up-and-coming talented youngsters and directors to one specializing on shallow, next-to-no-plot 'softcore porns' scripts. Note that I'm not against shows with sex scenes - as long it's well-placed and -intended and supports the plot and storytelling well, I'd have no problem with it.

Surprisingly it has some potentials that could've been harnessed by focusing on the working culture topic and storytelling (and better-crafted dialogue) to make it work (see Ep.3, which is perhaps by far the best episode), but alas it chooses to rely more on hot scenes of all places.

That's Yurika for you lol

Indeed. She looks promising.

You can check out Jason Maher's (Japanese movie reviewer) interview in the link below. Jojo-san said his acquittance, who is a producer, asked him to watch the stage play recording (of which the movie is based from). Eventually he agreed to direct it. FYI the stage play version has identical cast setup except for the male lead - AFAIK the original actor withdrew from showbiz prior to the shooting due to health concern.

https://genkinahito.wordpress.com/2020/05/13/interview-with-on-the-edge-of-their-seats-director-hideo-jojo-oaff-2020-japanese-and-english-text/

Her voice is quite distinct. You know it's her just by listening to it.

Trivia: this show has a spinoff featuring side character Nozomi as the lead, namely Tetsu Ota Nozomi 50 km. Instead of covering train travels in outlying and very rural parts of Japan, it's about Nozomi doing train spotting in parts of Tokyo's city center.

Underrated (and even some unknown indie) talents, slice-of-life theme under Imaizumi-san, and cat?
Count me in!

It did. Go check out Bagikuy.

Matsumoto Marika vs YOU
Shrill voice duel!!!

Edit: check Eikura Nana, Nakamura Yurika, Nao, Tsunematsu Yuri, and Ohara Yuno too, they also have very distinctive voices.